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But Canada’s rail passenger carrier is sticking by a $2.8-million lawsuit it’s slapped against the bereaved Glencoe mother for damages it says her son caused when he struck a Via train with his truck.

John Jobson, 22, died six days after the July 2011 collision near his home.

It’s not the first legal blow Sharon Jobson has taken since she lost her son: Last year, industry giant CN Rail filed a $500,000 lawsuit against her.

But this time, Jobson is less shocked than annoyed.

“The finger-pointing has gone on long enough. We just have to fix this problem (of unsafe rail crossings),” she said Monday.

Her son was driving a truck that hit a westbound Via train at Pratt Siding Rd., near his farm. The collision critically injured Jobson, who died days later, and injured several passengers and derailed the train.

The latest lawsuit, served on Jobson Sunday as she returned from overseas, alleges John Jobson was a negligent and incompetent driver responsible for the crash, for damage to the train and injury to passengers.

The suit also names Southwest Middlesex as liable, alleging the township had inadequate signs and poor maintenance of the road leading to the crossing.

The document contains allegations that have not been proven in court.

Via spokesperson Mylene Belanger said Monday the company doesn’t normally comment on issues before the courts. But, she said, “there was a fatality and we share her grief in the loss of her son.”

The suit was launched only after lengthy but fruitless discussions with the insurance company, Belanger said. “This is the process that had to be followed.”

Belanger said it’s generally Via’s policy to work to recover collision damages.

When the crash took place, the intersection at Pratt Siding had crossbucks — white X markings on posts beside the rail line — but wasn’t protected by gates or lights.

Gates and lights have since been installed, the cost borne by CN, Southwest Middlesex and Transport Canada.

Southwest Middlesex Mayor Doug Reycraft said the township has sent its copy of the lawsuit to its insurers. He said municipalities are especially vulnerable to such civil suits, because of laws about “joint and several liability.”

In lawsuits alleging multiple sources at fault, one person or corporation can be forced to pick up the entire tab if others also found liable are unable to pay damages. That means municipalities are named in a growing number of suits, he said.

“The perception is that we have unlimited resources,” he said, adding such lawsuits have caused municipal insurance rates to “escalate dramatically” in recent years.

While only served on Jobson days ago, the Via suit was filed in court last July.

Also last July, CN Rail sued Jobson — executor of her son’s estate — for damages to its line, a suit met by public scorn by many in the region who called it heartless.

That lawsuit remains unresolved.

Two Windsor residents, a couple, also sued Jobson, the train’s operator, Via and CN for $130,000, for injuries and loss of companionship.

Jobson said her son’s liability insurance coverage was just $1 million.

She said she still hears from people who have close calls at nearby unprotected crossings and she said she’ll continue to lobby for safety improvements.

Last week, two men in a truck narrowly escaped injury when it collided with a train at a minimally-protected crossing only kilometres from where her son was killed.